PureInsight | January 10, 2005
[PureInsight.org] Summary: Xu Shangqin once often went out all night drinking and gambling. His marriage was on the edge of collapse, and his health was also threatened by high blood pressure. However, one book and five sets of its exercises made him change his whole life. He made a full recovery after experiencing two strokes and an incurable temporary blindness, becoming yet another example of the millions of people in the world who have experienced extraordinary things in their lives after beginning to practice Falun Gong.
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Xu Shangqin isn't that tall. A gentle, humble expression filled his face. Reading the book Zhuan Falun out loud, he was so concentrated that it was as if he was in another world. Only after the reporter called out his name, did he realize that the reporter was standing right in front of him. His complexion was dark, yet invigorated, and his hands and feet were agile. From just looking at his appearance, nobody would eve guess that he had a stroke that led to be temporary blindness just a mere month ago.
His home was in the business district of Tainan City, Taiwan. Xu Shangqin is a wholesaler of canned foods. Every day he went to work early and came back home late, delivering goods in different places. Before practicing Falun Gong, he became seriously addicted to alcohol and gambling. He would drink with his buddies from lunch to dinner, all through the night until breakfast the next day. There would be many empty bottles on the floor after they finally left. He also loved to gamble. Once he spent three days and three night straight gambling and never went home. Although he thought of quitting gambling, whenever a friend came to ask him to join a gambling session, he wouldn't be able to resist the temptation. His wife finally had had enough of Xu Shangqin's bad habits and asked him for a divorce. But she still cared for him and couldn't go through with the divorce.
Because of his drinking, gambling, and abnormal lifestyle, Xu Shangqin's health became worse and worse. He suffered from high blood pressure (hypertension).
One Book and Five Set of Exercises Changed His Life
Like the majority of people in Taiwan, Xu Shangqin frequently visited the temple and burnt incense to pay respect to the Buddha. He prayed for wealth and fortune, and the safety of his family. But he often doubted if Buddha really existed and didn't truly believe Buddha would "grant every request."
In June 1999, a book and five sets of exercises completely changed his life. After a friend recommended it, he started the practice of Falun Gong. The first time he read Zhuan Falun, he felt most of questions that had been in his mind all his life had been answered. He said in amazement, "How can there be such great principles?" From then on, he loved Zhuan Falun so much that he couldn't bear it to put it down, to the point where he often read the book instead of going to sleep at night.
Not only did he read diligently, he also started to copy the book by hand. "It can help me further understand the meanings of this book. Xu Shangqin said, "If I made even one mistake, I would start from the beginning of the page. Once it took me 20 plus times before I could finish copying one page, but my heart wasn't agitated [at all]."
He spent two hours every night practicing the exercises. The easy-to-learn five sets of exercises made him feel energetic every day. His high blood pressure problem went away.
As for gambling and alcohol as well as other bad, abnormal living habits, after he began to practice Falun Gong, he gradually gave them up. His family members were puzzled by his sudden changes but they were all very glad and happy.
His moral standards changed a lot as well. One day, Xu Shangqin went to a store to collect the money that the store owed him. When he returned home and checked his books, he realized the store had given him too much. So the second day he went back and returned the difference. Another time he was paid by check and discovered that he had been paid too much, Xu Shangqin also returned them the difference. He said, "Running my business in a fair and honest manner not only makes me feel good about myself, my business has also become better. The customers trust me and like doing business with me."
The Phone Call of Truth Crossed Over the Taiwan Strait, Firmly Practice [Falun Gong] to Overcome the Test of Life and Death
To allow more people to benefit from Falun Gong just like him, Xu Shangqin and other fellow practitioners volunteered to go to community centers in Taiwan to teach the exercises and play Master Li's videotaped lectures. He also helped to start two new practice sites.
When Xu Shangqin found out the Chinese people in Mainland China have been deceived by the communist party and have misconceptions about Falun Gong, Xu Shangqin, along with other practitioners, decided to call the Chinese citizens in Mainland China and tell them the truth about Falun Gong. He made one phone call to one household and one family at a time to broadcast the real story of Falun Gong.
His Mandarin Chinese isn't great. On top of that, because different regions in Mainland China have their own dialects, when he made the phone calls, it often was as if "a chicken was talking to a duck" and they couldn't understand each other. Sometimes the other party would immediately hang up the phone once he told them about Falun Gong. But he never felt discouraged. He continued to do everything he could to tell the Chinese people on the other side of the Taiwan Strait the real story of Falun Gong in the free world and Taiwan. When a listener finally understood the truth, Xu Shangqin felt a great, unspeakable joy and gratitude.
He has also faced difficult tests. In the past year, he experienced two soul-stirring life-and-death tests.
In October 2003, along with his fellow practitioners, Xu Shangqin went to Hong Kong and spread the truth about Falun Gong to tourists from Mainland China at various tourist sites. At the end of the activity, just before boarding the plane, he felt stiff from head to toe, and he could no longer control his hands and feet. He vomited on the plane and had to be helped to walk. When he returned home, he maintained his firm belief in Falun Gong. He frequently read Zhuan Falun, practiced the exercises, and continued his truth clarification work. Approximately one month later, he gradually returned to normal. However, the bigger tests were still ahead of him. The same symptoms arose again this year in June. However this time it was more severe, and fiercer.
On that day, Xu Shangqin was working, and all of a sudden realized that he could not see. He experienced severe headache and vomiting and was unable to speak. His family was scared to death, and immediately carried him to the hospital. He ended up in the intensive care unit.
During the first three days in the Intensive Care Unit, Xu Shangqin felt lost and didn't know what course to follow. However, with the help of fellow practitioners, he realized that the only method to defeat the illness was to be steadfast and determined in his cultivation.
As soon as his condition became stable and he was transferred to a normal ward, Xu Shangqin made arrangements to leave the hospital. When he first returned home, he still had problems seeing and going about in his normal life. He allowed himself to be just like a normal person cultivating his heart, practicing his exercise and doing his work. A month later, Xu Shangqin was rid of the illness and felt a lot better. He recovered without any medicine!
Fellow practitioner Chen Yunru knows Xu Shangqin well and recollects [those days], "His mother was extremely happy. She called me and extended her thanks. I told her that this was the miracle of practicing Falun Gong that made him recover in such a short amount of time." Chen also said, "Honestly speaking, Xu Shangqin's courage and determination also moved me, giving me a deeper understanding of the principles of Falun Gong.'"
As for Xu Shangqin, when asked how he viewed his two brushes with death, he calmly explained, "Falun Gong has given me a new life, and my understanding of cultivation practice has been deepened as well. My experiences have taught me to let go of myself and face everything with courage."
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2004/12/28/30495.html
